Miss. State touts biofuels grant

STARKVILLE — Mississippi State University says part of a U.S. Department of Agriculture grant is funding research at the university that will help develop a process to create a clean, renewable energy source.

Researchers at Mississippi State University and Ohio State University received $6.5 million to work together on the project. They plan to develop a process to convert methane gases produced from leftover plant materials, or biomass, into cost competitive liquid fuels that more closely resemble diesel and gasoline.

A news release from Mississippi State says the three-year project will help scientists understand which biomass products are most efficient at producing fuel. They will also look at the environmental and economic impacts of production. Industry professionals can use the study’s research-based data to evaluate commercial biogas production.